


Family

by IronEyes



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe, Just because i know that Tony would be the best dad ever. thanks., Kid Loki, M/M, Toddler Bucky, toddler Clint
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-04
Updated: 2017-03-22
Packaged: 2018-09-06 10:39:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 16,964
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8747317
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IronEyes/pseuds/IronEyes
Summary: Tony feels overwhelmed. He is a mechanic and pretty good at his job. So he works for the Avengers. His three little sons, who disperse every nanny he hires, only make everything a bit harder.





	1. Homecoming

**Author's Note:**

> Hey ! :)
> 
> I'm just starting this story, because i love the idea of Tony as dad. I bet he would be wonderful at this! So obviously it's still about the avengers and iron man. But i changed the story a bit. (a lot)
> 
> Like always, the story is mine. The characters aren't.
> 
> Have fun!

"Mr. Stark, I quit!" 

Tony is not even with both legs in the apartment, when the new Nanny runs to him. She looks furious, and Tony tries to resist an eye roll. He had a hard day at work and just wants to rest.

"Mrs. Jacksen, I..." he begins gently, and puts his suitcase next to the door. But she's not having any of it. Instead, she shakes her long black hair and crosses her arms in front of her chest. 

"No, no matter how much money you pay me, I can't stand this any longer!", she says it again so angry and this time Tony can't help his loud exhale. That's all he needs. This Nanny wasn’t even there for more than two days. 

"I'm really sorry if they have caused you any inconvenience. I promise you that they will change.“, Tony says and he is still committed to a very quiet tone. The young woman shakes her head again and turns towards the living room.

"I'm going to pack my things and leave.", she says, before she disappears from Tony’ field of view. Tony is still standing in the hallway and lays two fingers on the root of his nose and rubs it. An annoying habit that shows that he is stressed. But he doesn't need that right now.

In the living room, he hears the Nanny packing her stuff and Tony decides to look after his boys. He will not be able to stop the Nanny anyway. Just like the others before.

"Loki?", Tony calls up the stairs, and shortly afterwards, he hears the tramp that announces his son. Loki looks rushed, as he climbs carefully down the stairs, and runs towards Tony.

„Daddy!“, he calls and before Tony has a chance to react, Loki clings immediately at his leg and looks at him from his shimmering green eyes. 

"Hey my big boy. Where are the other Two?“, Tony says quietly, and Loki's gaze darkened for a moment. Tony kneels now in front of his son and strokes him a few strands out of the eyes.  
The five-year-old looks still so angry and sad at the same time. Tony knows exactly what that means. 

"Upstairs.", Loki says finally, and then sniffles. Tony nods and stands up again. He takes Loki on his arm and kisses him on the cheek.

He had missed his boys for the day and he wishes he could come home just one time and enjoy his evening with his boys. He goes upstairs and looks in the living room, where he hears the Nanny still swearing. Tony feels already bad, he can only imagine the chaos in his living room.

Looks like his sons were apparently busy once again. Loki wriggles in his arm and Tony lets him down at the top of the stairs. Loki opens the door of his brothers. Tony hears it before he can see it. The soft sob.

He cautiously enters behind Loki in the room and yes. James is crying. His youngest son is in his bed and the tears run over his face. This sight will always break Tony's heart. Clint, his twin brother, is next to James and tries to comfort his brother somehow.

"D-daddy.", stutters Clint and Tony walks over to his twins. Loki sits also on the bed and looks like he would cry any second with James.

"Hi Baby.", Tony says, and kisses the three-year-old on the blond hair. Clint's blue eyes are not wet. James’ blue eyes are reddened however and already wet from his tears.

Although they are twins, they look different. Clint has the blue eyes of his mother and her blonde hair. James has the same eyes but Tony's dark hair. They could not be more different. 

"Sweetheart, whats wrong?", Tony asks James, who has not perceived Tony, apparently. He holds Clint's hand in his, and cries quietly to himself.

"Loki, can you get me a washcloth for your brother?", asks Tony and Loki immediately jumps up to run into the opposite bathroom. 

Tony lays next to James in the bed and cuddles his son. Finally, James reacts and puts his head on Tony's chest.

"D-addy.“, sobs James in between all the tears and Tony is stroking his hair. 

"Yes Daddy is here, everything is good.", he whispers, and Clint sits down on Tonys legs, he still holds James’ Hand. James doesn’t seem to want to say anything else. Tony expected this. James has always been very quiet.

Loki returns and gives Tony the washcloth. Tony wipes James several times across the face and tries to free his face from all the tears and the snot. 

"What happened, Loki?", asks Tony quietly, and Loki shrugs.

"We played, daddy. I played with the new car that you gave me. The red one! And I needed a place to get a proper racetrack! So, I rearranged the living room.“, explains Loki, and Tony sighs inwardly.

That means Loki jumped through the whole apartment and has broken down with his car everything that he could reach. His eldest son can never sit still and always has to have something to do. That's why there is a mess in the living room.

"And Mrs. Jacksen found that not-so-funny?“, asks Tony and Loki pouts at that. He shrugs and then shakes his head.

"No, she was mean Daddy! She said bad words and after that, she doesn’t wanted to stay in the corner!“ Loki says, and he sounds really angry.

Tony smiles at that. Actually, Loki is always aware of the responsibilities and knows exactly all the rules. Only on himself he does not realize, when he exceeds the limits.

"And what's wrong with Bucky?", Tony asks, and Loki comes in a hurry closer to the bed. He strokes his brother's hair and sighs. James has now stopped crying and closed his eyes. He calms down quickly, if Tony is there.

"I d-drew.“, James mumbles softly, and Tony kisses his son on the forehead. Of course, drawing is the only thing that James loves. Tony loves to watch his son, when he scribbles all concentrated on his piece of white paper. Even if he's not drawing very complicated things with his three years, he is gifted. Tony is sure about that.

"But?“, asks Tony, because he knows, that wasn’t the whole story.

"He painted on the wall.", whispers Loki and Tony has to resist a grin. No wonder that his guys have no education, if Tony finds it almost funny, what they are always doing.

"Bucky, you know that you can’t do that.", Tony says fondly but nevertheless, determined to his son and looks James in the eyes. He looks so sad that Tony knows immediately that he didn't cry because of that. Clint climbs gently on Tony's legs closer to James and lays down on Tony's belly.

"Nanny mean!", Clint says and now he is stroking his brother on the head. Tony just needs to smile, because it is so sweet how Clint always cares about James. Also, Clint is usually woken up a lot more like Loki. They surely have that from him, he was as a wild child as well.

"Y-yelled.“, whispers James quietly, and he sniffles. Now Tony knows what happened. For James there is nothing worse than to be yelled at. He talks so rarely to other people and if they are noisy and mean, it is to much for James.

"Okay, Bucky. She will never shout at you again, yeah?“, Tony says and sits up carefully. Clint understands immediately and slides down. James pushes further to his father.

"Angry?", he whispers, and Tony can hear the fear in his voice too clearly. He shakes his head and firmly cuddles James as well.

"I'm never really angry, you know. But we still need to clean up, okay? Loki, you can go with Clint to the living room and pick up the chaos? You know what is to be sorted in which boxes. And James, we two are looking for a bucket and water and then we will wash the wall, yeah?“ Tony says finally, and his three sons nod at the same time.

Tony stands up and goes over to the bathroom to grab a couple of things. James holds on to the hem of his sweater and follows him silently through the apartment. When James feels bad, he can rarely stay without Tony. To be honest it’s almost everday.

"Mrs. Jacksen, you can go then.", Tony says as he walks back into the living room, but to his amazement she already disappeared. He looks to Loki and Clint who actually started to clean up. Loki has the music on and Tony smiles and shakes his head as Clint dances while he throws his things into his green Box.

Clint has like Tony a passion for music. While his two brothers share this property, Clint still loves music the most. Loki, however, is rather a magician and James loves to draw.

"Guys....Mrs. Jacksen and will probably not come back.“, says Tony as he kneels in front of the living room wall and starts scrubbing at the sharpie on the wall. James sits next to him on the floor and tries to get rid of his drawings as well. Loki looks up from his toys and shrugs.

"Daddy, we didn't like her.", he says then and Clint next to him nods. Tony lets out a sigh, and throws the sponge back in the bucket. The drawings of James are still unchanged on the white wall.

"No matter what Nanny, I bring to you, you don't like them.", he says, and he can hear how exhausted he sounds. Loki ignores Tony now and sorts his magic cards in his drawer of the cabinet.

"Daddy.", says Clint and looks at Tony. Who doesn’t know what his son wants. 

"What, Daddy?", he asks and James claps his hands. 

"Daddy stays home!", says Clint grinning and Tony's heart breaks. He knows that his children would be happy if he would be home every day. Tony would also like to, but he has an important Job and can't just quit. From what money would they live then?

"I'll think of something.", mumbles Tony and hopes not to disappoint his sons. Clint, however, is distracted again, as he discovers his stuffed dog and presses his cheek against it. James wipes further across the wall, just like his father does. They work in silence until Clint's stomach growls loudly.

"Hungry.", he whispers and Tony stands up. 

"She didn’t even feed you anything? I hate nannies! Come on, guys, I'll cook you pasta and then I'll call a painter, who paints the wall white again.“, says Tony and the boys run after him in a hurry. 

What a day.


	2. I've got a solution

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soo here we go with chapter 2 :)
> 
> I changed a few things, because this is an AU. We have Tony as a father of his three little children Loki, Clint and Bucky. The Avengers in this Story are Natasha, Bruce, Thor, Sam and Scott so far. I hope you like it anyway. :)  
> Also Tony doesn't work for Stark Indutries and he doesn't inherit any money from his father. So he is alone and only a mechanic for the Avengers.
> 
> Alright :D lets start!

"Wait, wait! How many nannies did you have in the last 3 months?“ Thor asks laughing, as Tony sits in the lab the next day and sighs. 

"The Seventh or Eighth, I slowly lose the overview.", Tony replies with a rough voice and reaches for the coffee.

"I can't believe that, they are always so well-behaved.", Scott says who is sitting in one of the armchairs with Clint on his lap. Tony had to take his three sons with him to work today, because he knows no one who could take care of them. He can only hope that Pepper wouldn't notice.

"It's true, they are so sweet.", says Sam from the leather sofa and tickles James. The former soldier is one of the few that James trusts and loves. James chuckles softly and tries to convince Sam not to poke him in the sides. Tony loves it when his son acts carefree.

"Sweet? I didn't even know the word exists in your vocabulary.“, Natasha says. She sits on the other side of Tony and shows Loka a new card trick. Bruce, Thor, Scott, Natasha and Sam are some super heroes that Tony works for. In addition, they have become real friends.

He already knew Bruce from Uni and so he was really happy to meet him again. Actually, they are supposed to meet today to try out the new weapons that Tony worked on. Basically, he takes care of everything the superheros need. The heroes get his full support. However, they are distraced by his sons today.

„Oh shut the fuck up.“, Sam replies to Natasha, and Tony pulls up an eyebrow. Before he could say something, because he doesn’t want his sons to listen to such words or before Natasha kills Sam for that, James startles.

"Bad Sammy!", he says and crosses his arms in front of his chest. The others around them burst into peals of laughter. James, by contrast, seems still not satisfied. For help he looks up to Clint, who laughes as well, even if he doesn’t understands quite why he laughs. But Loki knows what James wants.

"Time Out, Sammy.", he says quietly and points at a corner of the laboratory. Tony is sure that Scott dies every moment of laughter. Sam looks at James, than at Loki and back again to James.

"Please – what?" he asks taken aback and Loki taps even with the foot on the floor impatiently. Tony is sure that he has this from him.

„You heard my sons, Sam. You've been a bad boy and go for 5 minutes in the corner until you're back at being a good boy.“, Tony with a grin says, and Sam's gaze wanders over to him. 

They fight a silent conversation through their eye contact until Sam actually sighs and gets up. Carefully, he puts James on his feet and strokes his hair. Then goes over to the corner and faces the wall. 

"Satisfied?", he growls unhappily and James nods. He turns to Tony and smiles gently. Tony nods back at him.

"You did very good, Bucky.", says Tony and James shyly smiles before he runs over to Thor. Carefully, he pulls at his sleeve and Thor lifts him up immediately. James likes to be carried or to sit on a lap.

"Why aren't we taking care of the boys when you are busy?", Scott says finally, and Tony kicks him directly on the shin. 

"Maybe it's because I work with you and that's why we're all constantly in meetings?", asks Tony and rolls his eyes. In fact, he has thought of it already.

He could take the boys with him, someone would always look out for them, but he can't do that. They were constantly on the move and they are still too young. 

"I got the idea. Does it have to be a Nanny?“, Thor asks. He is leaning forward now and holds James a bit tighter, so that James doesn’t fall out of his lap.

"Why? I make sure that my boys will only be in the care of the best nannies in the city. They have all the best exams and have years of experience.“, Tony declares and Sam laughs softly. He turns again and leaves his 'quiet corner'. James frowns, but says nothing.

"But that didn’t help you or did it?", Sam says now-explanatory and Tony nods. No matter what Nanny he has hired, none of them stayed more than a few days and Tony was allowed to come home every evening to the mess. He can't explain it, because his boys are educated. Here at his work they can behave.

But as soon as Tony leaves the house Loki and Clint are going crazy. And James has clearly cried a lot in the last few weeks. Tony hates to make his children unhappy.

"Guys? How would it be if I lead you through the lab? We have there a lot of robots, that you can watch.“, Scott says and stands up. He sets Clint on the floor and takes his hand in his own. Tony knows that Scott is just doing this so the others can talk about the new Nanny. His sons doesn’t have to hear that talk.

Clint seems really excited and says directly, that he wants to play with the robots. Scott grins and stretches out his other hand to Loki. Loki throws his father at first a questioning look and goes to Scott, as Tony nods. As he said, actually, they are well educated. 

James doesn’t seem to want to go around and stays on Thor's lap. But Bruce stands also up.

"James, we have a lot of coloring books here, do you want to come with us?" asks Natasha directly addressed to James, and now James jumps up in a hurry. He would do anything for Natasha.

"Daddy? Yes?“ he still asks and goes, nevertheless, already over to Natasha. She laughs and lifts James up. Immediately James puts his little arms around her neck. 

"Of course, you go play quietly.", says Tony, and Clint comes running back to his father to press a kiss on his cheek. Tony grins and waves to them as his sons leave the room with Bruce, Natasha and Scott.

"Always, when I see you with your boys, I want my own children.", Sam says, smiling and winking at Tony. Tony smiles back and shakes his head. 

"It is wonderful, but also exhausting. Besides, you're still young, why do you want children?“, asks Tony, and Sam shrugs.

"You were only 21 when you became a father.", Sam says finally, and Tony nods again. It seems so long ago, but that was only 5 years ago. Terrible how quickly time flies. Feels like yesterday Loki was still his little baby and now he already has his twins for three years.

"What I actually wanted to say to you is that I know someone who could take care of them. At least once a day.“, Thor says, and Tony takes another sip of his coffee. 

"Thor, that's a nice thought, but I need someone to take care of them everyday.", Tony speaks immediately and Sam shakes his head.

"First you need someone for tomorrow night, because that is where we are invited to the gala with Fury. Because of the victory of the last mission.“ Sam remembers him now, and Tony puts the hands above the head. Shit, he totally forgot. This is an important appointment, he can miss that again. Pepper would kill him.

"I could take..." starts Tony, hesitantly, but Thor shakes his head immediately. 

"You know that I love you. All Five of us, but it is much too late for them, if you bring them with you tomorrow.“, Sam says and Tony tilts his head sideways.

"I know! I meant I take them to Pepper.“, Tony sighs, because he knows that this is not a good idea. After all, Pepper has enough to do with the company. Since Tony works for the Avengers. He has no time for Stark Industries. Not that he can be interested in that. He never liked Stark Industries. It reminded him too much of his father. So he gave it to Pepper.

"Come on, Tony. He might really help you.“, says Thor, and it sounds almost as if he was whining like Clint when he asks for more chocolate. 

"He?!", Tony asks shocked and slips back with his chair so quickly that he almost falls over. Sam and Thor manage to frown at the same second.

"Yes, he is a guy. I know him from the army and he really is a good guy. He can handle children.“, Sam says, and sounds honest. Tony is still uncertain. 

"And...he is not a Babysitter or something?", he asks carefully and Sam and Thor shake their heads.

"No, at least not a professional. But he loves children.“, Thor replies almost immediately and Tony doesn't know whether he should like that or not. How should he know that he deals well with his children?

"I don't know.", Tony says and he lets his doubts clearly resonate in his words. Sam now acts completely seriously and puts a hand on Tonys wrist.

"Tony. Listen, I know that you really love your kids and only want the best for them. But you're involved with your job constantly. Steve could help you there really. Perhaps the boys would behave when they don’t have the feeling that they would be taking care of by a nanny. He is a normal boy, and would also play normal with them. Maybe it is exactly what you need. Think about it.“, says Sam and acts so calm and sure of himself. Tony feels like he should accept the offer. Sam is right, or is he?

"His name is Steve?", Tony says and he is testing how the name feels on his tongue.

"He is a good guy. I think he is studying at the moment, we met him two weeks ago again and he is really nice. I'm pretty sure you'll like him and as a sudent, he can use the money to good use.“, Thor says again and Tony nods slowly. 

„How old is he?“ Tony asks then, because he doesn’t want a teenager to look out for his sons.

"He turned 23 in July.", replied Sam and Tony sighs. That's still pretty young, but like Sam said, Tony was just 21 years old when Loki was born. And when he was 23 years old the twins were born and he had raised all three alone. 

Before Tony can reply, the door opens again. 

"Daddy?", Clint, who pokes his head through the door asks. Tony looks up immediately and looks at his son questioningly. Clint smiles really big. 

"I Avenger!", Clint then says loud and they'll break out in laughter. Tony shakes his head and takes his son on his lap. He kisses him on the cheek and Clint chuckles. 

"Of course you are going to an Avenger, my darling.", Tony says and walks over to look after his other boys. Before he goes, he turns back to Thor and Sam. 

"Tell Steve he needs to be on time. 5pm. Tomorrow."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you liked it ! 
> 
> IronEyes


	3. The new One

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we go again! I hope you all like the new chapter! And i want to thank you all for the lovely comments and kudos! :) Makes me really proud. (Also I'm sorry for my crappy english!)

Tony walks in a circle at home. Tony needs to leave in forty minutes and Steve is not in sight yet. Okay. It is also not 5pm but Tony is still nervous. He stands in front of the mirror and tries to tie the stupid tie. Actually, he should be able to tie it, because he needs to wear it so often, but he can't do it properly.

"Daddy?", Loki is now standing in the bedroom door and looks sadly to his father. Tony sighs quietly and turns to him. 

"Yes Darling?", asks Tony and kneels down now. Loki comes closer and hugs his Daddy. They stay like that for a moment, then Loki steps back.

"Do you have to go again?", asks Loki, quietly and he looks like he would start crying any second. 

It breaks Tonys heart. He really wished he could quit his job. Actually, no he loves his job, but he makes his children unhappy. Besides Tony needs this Job. He loves to work for the Avengers.

"Yes, but only tonight, okay? The other nights I'm home this week.“, Tony says and he hopes that he can calm down Loki with that. In fact Loki doesn’t frown anymore and nods.

"Will Mrs. Jacksen babysit us again?", asks Loki, quietly and Tony strokes his hair.

"No, certainly not, hm? Daddy has found someone better.“, Tony says and he hopes that he is right with his own words. Loki nods once and then runs over to his room and seems to play there a little.

Tony turns back to the mirror and looks at himself. Yes, he looks quite good. 

But nobody will look at him tonight. He is after all just a mechanic of the heros. Tony smiles a little bitterly and looks at himself in the mirror image. 

Actually, he intended to become an Avenger when he was younger. His father had always laughed at his dreams.

Saving the world everyday. That sounded just so good. 

But his son has made him a dash through the bill. Tony has sacrificed all his dreams for his children. Of course it hurts and sometimes he wishes that he would, nonetheless, become an Avenger, but his children are the best thing in the world for him. He loves them so much and would never change them.

They are more than just a few dreams.

Tony pulls himself together and looks at his new watch, a gift from Pepper. Steve still has exactly ten minutes, and he hopes he wouldn’t be late. Tony hates it when someone is late, even if he was as a teenager as well all the time. He shakes his head and goes over to the room of his twins.

"Hawk? Bucky?“, he calls them by their nicknames and sees that his boys are sitting on the floor quietly playing with each other. Tony leans in the doorway and smiles at them.

Clint builds a tower with his toy blocks. James sits next to him and looks at him in awe. It looks as if he would try not to breathe too hard, because he doesn’t want to break the tower. 

Tony smiles, decides to go down and not to disturb his sons. Just as he reached the stairs, there's a ring at the door. Tony goes a step faster and closes the door in the upper hallway behind him so that the boys won’t notice immediately that a new Nanny is coming. 

"Good evening, Mister Stark, my Name is Steve Rogers."

Tony is honestly surprised. He expected anything, but not this young man standing in the door. 

He is taller than Tony and the blue eyes sparkle excited. Tony stands still, the words stuck in his throat. Blonde hair frame the face perfectly and Tony stares at this delicate pink lips. 

Something about Steve is different.

Tony doesn't know if this is a good 'different', but he would figure it out. Steve strokes a few strands from his face and his smile wavers in a nervous grin, because Tony still hasn’t said anything.

"Hello, Mister Rogers. In time, I would not have thought that.“, Tony says and he realizes how dismissive and arrogant he sounds. Tony is bad at meeting new people, even if he meets a lot of people in his job.

Steve doesn’t answer that and Tony invites him inside then. They go silently into the kitchen, and Tony points at a chair behind him. He wants to talk with Steve about a few things first. 

"So what did Sam told you about my boys?", Tony wants to know and Steve tugs a little nervous at his hair.

"Sam told me that I should stay overnight and that you have three sons.", Steve says and Tony is realizing how deep and reassuring his voice is. He talks unlikely slow but it makes Tony surprisingly not aggressive.

"Right. I hope Sam was right, that kids love you, because my boys are a bit...unsure of other people.“, Tony says and now he grins a bit. Steve returns the smile a little shyly and then looks at his hands.

"Huh...I hope so too. How old are they? Sam hasn’t told me much.“, asks Steve finally and Tony leans back a little.

"So my oldest is Loki and he is five years old... my twins James and Clint are three years old. James is the youngest and kind of shy. He's not talking to strangers and he is very...sensitive. My twins, unfortunately, were both seriously ill at birth. James has no left arm, but a prosthetic arm. Yes and then we have Clint. He is deaf and therefore has a hearing aid. So please take good care of those two.“,Tony says and Steve really seems to care. It is only missing that he actually takes notes.

"May I ask what happened?" asks Steve and he sounds carefully. Tony lowers his view. He doesn’t like to talk about it. Therefore, he shakes his head.

"Uhm...let's leave this story for another time. What is important is that Clint always has to wear his hearing aid. He can put it back on is own, in case he loses it. Otherwise, James prosthetic arm is waterproof and can only be taken off by me with a code. But since he never wears is to sleep I'm going to trust you with the code. Sometimes, it may be that he wants you to take it off. But he needs the arm and he should actually practice with it. But of course he always can have a break.“, Tony says and sighs inwardly. Sure, he has scared Steve away now.

"No Problem, I think. How does it work otherwise? When should they be in bed?“ asks Steve and Tony raises an eyebrow. This is the first time that someone pays the attention, his children deserve. And Steve doesn’t run away because his twins are a little different.

"It would be nice if they would be in bed at half past seven. James falls usually asleep immediately. Clint is, however, a lot of nights awake. Loki can stay up till 8pm , but then he should also go to sleep. Uh Clint doesn’t wear his hearing aid at night. Uhm...I hope they let you sleep. Normally they aren’t awake early. How does that fit in with your University?“, Tony rambles and realizes that today is thursday and Steve has uni in the morning. Steve waves his hand.

„No Problem. I'm free on fridays anyway. I am only from Monday to Thursday in the Uni and then fortunately only in the morning.“, replies Steve and Tony relieved nods. 

He wouldn’t come home tonight, because he sleeps in a hotel. After all, the Avengers are going to spend the whole evening at the Gala and Tony would have to drive back about 4 hours with his car if he needed to be home.

"What do they boys in their free time?", Steve asks then.

"Uhm. Loki likes magic tricks and Clint likes to do any kind of sport. James draws everday. And they all love superheros.", Tony answers and then blushes. Just like his kids Tony is a fan of superheros as well. When he was a kid he was so in love with Captain America.

"Sounds great. I'm sure we will have a lot of fun.", Steve says and his blue eyes sparkle again.

"Okay, good. Otherwise, there's not much to say. You don’t need to bathe them, that's what I did earlier. Dinner is always at 6pm. And don't believe James when he tells you that he is already full. Or Clint when he says he needs more food.“, Tony explains and Steve smiles at him. Tony shyly smiles back.

"Then I'll show you our guest room.", Tony says finally and somehow it surprises him that his boys have not shown up yet. Tony leads Steve up the stairs and goes directly into the first room. 

There is a large double bed, a wardrobe and an attached bathroom. Steve has apparently brought only a backpack and puts it down in one corner.

"And this is just the guest room?", Steve asks a little in disbelief and Tony grins. Before he can respond, he hears running like one of his boys runs across the hall. 

It can only be Loki and Tony is right. Loki just slithers around the corner. When he sees Steve, he remains standing and stares at him with big eyes. 

"Hello, you are Loki right? I'm Steve.", the Blonde says, almost immediately and he grins at his son. Loki, by contrast, seems a little surprised and comes a bit closer. 

"Hi Steve.", he says quietly and also smiles a bit shyly. Tony draws an eyebrow up, Loki is never quiet.

"Okay, I have to leave in a few minutes. I can introduce you directly to the twins, since you've already met Loki.“, Tony says and steps out of the room.

He sees that Loki is still staring at Steve and shakes his head. It would be the first time that Loki would not whine about his babysitter.

As Tony enters the children's room this time his boys look up immediately. Clint frowns as he sees his father in a suit and James’ look is sad. 

"Daddy Bye Bye?", asks James and Tony heart almost breaks.

"Yes, daddy has to work. But in the morning I'm back here and will play with you all day.“, Tony says and he hopes that he can keep this promise. He begged Nick weeks ago for a couple of free days, and now where he actually has no Nanny besides today, he needs this urgently.

"But I've someone here for you to meet.“, Tony says and steps to the side so that his sons will be able to see Steve. Steve smiles at them and waves.

"Hello, James and Clint, I'm Steve.", he says and Clint comes over to him immediately. 

"I'm Clint.", he says with a grin and even holds out his hand for Steve. Tony doesn't know what's going on with his sons.

"That's what I thought immediately. You've got a great sweater.“, Steve says to Clint and Clint chuckles embarrassed and looks to Tony. 

Tony nods and then smiles, too. Clint claps enthusiastically in his hands. James sits still in his place and observes everything nervous. He doesn’t want that his daddy has to leave again. This is unfair, he has not painted yet with his daddy today. Tony looks at his son as James crawls over to his bed and stays there.

"James, don't you want to welcome Steve hm? He will look after you today.“, Tony says gently and James just shakes his head. He doesn't want Steve. He wants his daddy. 

"I told you he's shy.", Tony says softly and he can see how hard James tries not to cry. For a moment Tony wants to throw everything away and cancel the gala so that he can stay with James.

"I saw your drawings in the kitchen and I have to say I am really impressed. You're such a great artist.“, Steve says and Tony is surprised that Steve has paid attention to the drawings in the kitchen.

James looks up and then looks back to his lap. Apparently he doesn't know what to make of it. Tony, however, really hopes that James would survive the evening without crying.

"Boys, I’ve got to go now.", Tony says and he goes over to the bed, to press James a kiss on the cheek. James kisses his daddy back and Tony is relieved, because then it can't be that bad. 

Then he kisses also Clint and Loki.

"Good Luck.", he says to Steve, but he is already busy, pulling Clint on his lap and talking to Loki about superheros.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's it again! See you next week! x3


	4. You seem pretty okay

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoooooah. Sorry I'm late. But it was christmas. You know what i mean. :/ Anyway lets start!

"So boys, what do you want to do?", asks Steve, when he hears Tony starting the car.

He never took care of three little boys at the same time before and he really hopes that he doesn’t screw something up here. Mr. Stark seems to be a strict, yet open-minded person and you can only see all too clearly how much he loves his children. Steve does not want to ruin that.

"We?", Loki asks, a little taken aback and first points at himself and then his brothers. James still hasn’t said a single word and is now looking anxiously at Steve, as if he had no own opinion on what he wants to do now. Clint stands up and runs over to his drawers.

"Yes, of course. It's an hour to supper and till then we can play what you want.“, Steve says, and he's still sitting on the edge of the bed next to James. The dark-haired one looks to his brother, who stil searches something in a drawer. 

"Drawing?", asks Clint finally and holds a coloring book in his hand.

He doesn’t ask Steve the question apparently, because he looks at his twin brother. James nods gently and goes over to his brother. While Clint gets more coloring books from the dresser and throws them to the floor, James takes out some of the pencils. Steve watches them with a smile and then turns to Loki. 

"Are we allowed to draw?" asks Loki, as he notices Steve smiling at him. 

"Of course, why not?" asks Steve and frowns. Why are the boys so insecure when he asks them about their opinon? 

"The nannies don't like it. We...make a lot of chaos.“, Loki explains and he contorts his lips to a pout. Steve laughs and strokes him through his dark long hair.

"Chaos is allowed, as long as you clean up after playing.", explains Steve now and Loki grins, before he runs to his brothers.

Steve is still a little confused that the nannies that otherwise take care off the boys are so cold to them. If they want to draw, then they can do that. No wonder they are always so unhappy. Sam really told him the truth.

"Guys, what do you think, we can go down to the living room? You can draw in peace and I'll make us something to eat.“, Steve asks, even before they have started to spread out all their things in the room. 

The kitchen is open to the living room and Steve could keep an eye on the boys all the time. Loki nods and grabs a few of the things. Steve watches as they take everything they need and then goes with them to the stairs. Honestly, he does not dare to let the boys go down there on their own.

The daughter of his neighbor, Peggy, is also just three years old and Peggy would kill Steve if he would let Sharon only once go down the stairs alone. But Loki is already five years old. So maybe he can do it on his own. Also Steve isn’t sure if the Twins want his help.

"Do you need help with the stairs?" asks Steve and he stops on the top stair. Loki giggles and jumps the stairs down before he runs into the kitchen with the open living room.

Okay, that was a clear no. Clint comes over immediately and stretches out his hands to Steve.

"Up!", he says and chuckles, when Steve pulls him up. Well, then he would carry Clint down the stairs. He would be able to carry James as well, but he still seems much too suspicious.

"Do you need my help as well, James? You can take my hand and we can go down together?“, asks Steve, when he gently gets up with Clint on his arm. James frowns and then looks to Clint, who is leaning his head on Steve's shoulder and starts sucking his thumb.

"You don’t need to be afraid.", Steve tries again and he tries to smile really sweet at James. This time James seems to be almost convinced, at least he comes closer, in one hand he still has his pencil box. Carefully, he reaches out with his free hand to Steve and he takes it. 

"See? I just want to help you. So we can finally start drawing.“, Steve says as he climbs slowly down the stairs. 

He's holding James’ hand in his, and watches James, so that he doesn’t stumble. Clint on his arm, seems quite happy and maybe Steve was imagining it, but James looks like he is smiling.

"Lolo!", shouts Clint, as he is on the ground again and he rushes to his brother in the living room. Steve laughs and goes with James after them, the dark-haired boy seems like he doesn’t want to let go of his hand now.

Loki has already spread everything in the living room and Steve knows now what he meant earlier with the Chaos. Now individual papers lie scattered on the ground, the pencils lie in a mess and Loki put even a box of watercolours out, the half of the color already dripping on the floor. Maybe that would be more exhausting, then he thought.

James runs to his brothers and reaches for a sharpie. Steve smiles and then continues to prefer dinner. He does not want to disturb the boys and decides to cook Spaghetti for them, after all, every child loves them or do they? 

While he puts on the water, he searches for other ingredients. Actually, he intended to cook the tomato sauce himself, but this is something Tony hasn’t in the house. In general it looks both in the fridge, as well as the stock cupboards pretty empty. Steve takes a finished sauce, and sets it on the stove. 

In between, his gaze wanders off into the living room, but the boys are peacefully drawing. From time to time, he hears Clint laughing or Loki babbles something, but otherwise, they behave quietly.

"Boys! Dinner is ready.“, calls Steve after a while and puts the pot on the table. He pushes the two high chairs for Clint and James to the table and is waiting for them. Clint comes running first and throws himself into Steves arms.

"Hungry!", he says aloud and giggles, as Steve takes him up. The Blonde tickles him and puts him then laughing in his highchair. Clint claps with his hands and wants to take the hot pot. However, Steve is faster and can move the pot before Clint can touch it. Loki is the next one that comes in the kitchen. Almost as quickly as Clint and he is siting on the corner bench.

"Woah Noodles!", he says enthusiastically and Steve grins. He thought correctly. He puts Loki some of the food on the plate and then looks over to James, who is still drawing.

"James, are you coming to eat?", asks Steve while he's shoveling Spaghetti for Clint on a plastic plate, and then cuts them a bit smaller. Clint seems to be impatient and lets his legs dangle. James shakes his head and seems to ignore Steve.

"Can you already eat on your own, Clint?", he asks and Clint nods. Steve waits a moment and watches Clint who pushes a spoon full of noodles in his mouth. This looks quite good, so he quickly goes to James.

"Come on James, eating is important. Your daddy would want you to eat something.“, Steve says gently as he kneels next to James. That seems to work, because James looks at Steve for a moment before he gets up and follows him to the kitchen. Steve sets him on the high chair and actually James lets him do this.

"What do you eat otherwise with the nannies?", asks Steve while he cuts the noodles smaller for James.

"Bread. Always Bread.“, says Loki and shrugs his shoulders. Steve is a little shocked that they care so little for the boys. After all, these children need to have decent meals. Steve shakes his head.

"You need to feed Bucky.“, Loki says finally, as Steve puts the plate in front of James and in fact, James makes absolutely no attempt to start. Steve chuckles and holds the spoon in front of James.

"Choo Choo here comes the train, Bucky.", says Steve and intentionally uses James’ nickname. Maybe that would get his trust. In fact, James opens his mouth and lets Steve feed him. And he even laughs a little. Steve repeates the procedure, and James starts to laugh again before he eats a bit more. 

Steve is happy because Tony has told him, that James would not eat much, but he ate his whole plate. Steve strokes his black hair, when he is finished and James giggles again. Seems as if he has won the heart of the little boy now.

Afterwards, Steve clears the table and the boys go back in the living room. After Steve has everything ready, he goes to the boys and helps them clean up. Actually, even the twins are helping and cleaning their spots. Steve doesn't understand why the other nannies were so overwhelmed. Clint yawns now, when he is finished and Steve throws a glance at the clock.

"Boys, it's time for bed.", Steve says, and even Loki comes after them. Apparently he is also tired. Steve goes into the room of the twins and looks for their pyjamas as Loki disappears into his own room.

Since the twins still don't understand really how the pyjamas work, Steve helps them after Clint wants to pull the pants over his head. He sends them to brush their teeth in the bathroom, and while Loki helps James with brushing his teeth, Steve helps Clint.

"Tired.", whispers Clint and rubs his eyes. Steve nods and lifts him up to lay him down in his bed. According to Tony, Clint should have problems with falling asleep, but he closes his eyes and yawns again.

"Good Night, Clint.", whispers Steve and carefully removes the hearing aid. Clint nods and then turns to the other side. Steve's looking around now for James, who stands in the doorway and apparently, doesn’t know what to do.

"Come here, Love. I'll help you.“, says Steve and doesn’t realize that he uses this nickname. James doesn't seem to bother it but because he comes towards him and lets Steve tuck him into the bed. The Blonde smiles at James and strokes him over the hair, as James closes his eyes.

"Sleep well, Bucky.", he whispers and James opens his eyes once more. 

"Night, Stevie.", he whispers just as quietly and Steve is sure that he never smiled that big in his life. He is so happy that he even presses a kiss on James’ forehead. James just mumbles something and seems to be already asleep.

As Steve goes over to Loki into his room, he sees that Loki is already in bed and reads a book. Steve sits next to him and smiles. 

"I like you, Steve. I hope you'll come back.“, Loki says, before he puts the book to the side and hugs Steve. 

Steve smiles. What incredibly cute boys.


	5. Good Morning World

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Konnichiwa, I'm here again! and also a bit early, cool? cool. Hope you like this chapter as well! Also i wanted to say thank you for all your messages and kudos! i love you all x3

Steve stretches and turns to the other side. He is not used to get woken up by the sun, but apparently he has not closed the blinds yesterday. Steve sighs and opens his eyes. The Cabinet at the other end of the room is not known to him and only then he remembers again.

He is not at home in his small apartment. He's with Mr. Stark and his sons. Steve takes a look at the alarm clock and notices that it is already 7 in the morning. The boys could be awake every second or even worse, they were already awake. Steve sits up in a hurry and wipes his hair from his forehead. Like always after a good sleep, his hair is a mess.

He seeks out new clothes from his backpack and begins to move. Not a second too soon, because he hears a loud clang from the kitchen. Shit. Mr. Stark would kill him!

Steve rubs his hair while he opens the door and goes down to the kitchen. There he sees Clint in his pajamas. The little blonde has broken a cup. The shards are everywhere on the floor. He also can see that Clint is wearing his hearing aid. Tony was right. The little one could put them in on his own. Steve is a bit proud to be honest.

"Clint, Love what are you doing?", asks Steve and tries not to step into the many shards that are lying on the ground. Clint looks up now, startled and steps back a couple of steps until he has the kitchen cabinet in the back.

"Clint sorry!", he says scared and in the next moment, his lower lip starts to tremble and the tears are streaming down his pale cheeks. Steve is so shocked, he doesn't know how to react. 

"Clint, hey, don't cry. Baby this is not the end of the world.“, says Steve and goes over to Clint. The little Boy is still crying and even gets a hiccup. Nevertheless, Steve can take him on his lap and the blonde presses himself firmly into Steve. He rocks him a bit, so that can reassure Clint.

"Sorry.", Clint mumbles again and he can't calm down at all. Steve wonders whether Clint has been getting a lot of in trouble if something like this happens. Where the nannies yelling at him then? Or worse, would Mr. Stark yell at his sons? Somehow Steve can't imagine that at all.

"Clint, I'm not mad okay? Everything is good, please stop crying.“, Steve says softly, and he strokes Clints hair again and again. He sounds almost begging, but in fact, Clint seems to calm down a bit. 

"Not mad?", he asks softly, and Steve shakes his head. He sets Clint now on the kitchen counter and stays with him.

"No, you didn’t do it on purpose, did you?" asks Steve and Clint shakes his head. Steve smiles at him and walks over to one of the other cabinets, in which he has found yesterday a Dustpan and broom. Clint remains well-behaved at the kitchen counter and watches Steve closely.

"See. These things happen. I drop things all the time.“, says Steve and smiles at Clint again. The blonde looks surprised and puts a hand over his mouth. He looks shocked.

"Really?", he whispers excitedly and Steve laughs. It is unbelievable how cute the little one is. Steve sweeps up the shards and disposes them in a garbage bag, he also takes from the Cabinet.

"Yes really. I’m really clumsy. But sshh that's our secret, okay?", asks Steve with a wink and Clint nods in a hurry. He even does so, as if he would seal the lips with a key. Steve could kiss him. What a sweet boy. Hopefully is own kids would be like Clint and his brothers.

"Okay, how about James and Loki? The Two are still sleeping?“, asks Steve, as he closes the garbage bag and sets it by the sink so that he can dispose it later. 

"Lolo is awake.", Clint says finally, and shrugs his shoulders. Steve nods, then he might wake up James as well and they can eat breakfast together. He now goes back over to Clint and pulls him up.

"Then go quickly and wake James up. I will make breakfast in the meantime and then i get you, okay?“ Steve asks. Clint is hardly on the ground before runs the to the stairs. Steve goes behind him, because he's still worried about the stairs, but Clint is already climbing them. He sighs.

First of all, he vacuums the kitchenfloor, so the boys can’t step in any shards. Then he brings the trash bag with the broken pieces outside of the frontdoor, to bring him later in the garbage bin. Then he searches the cabinets for breakfast. Again, there is hardly anything except cereal.

But after all, he still finds enough things to make some pancakes. He hums softly and sets the table as well. Barely ten minutes later, he is finished and gets up to fetch the boys. 

"Steve!", Loki comes smiling to him and throws himself in his arms. Steve laughs and holds him tight.

"Good Morning, Loki. Slept well?“, asks Steve and Loki nods at him. 

"Clint said you're making breakfast. Again, Noodles?“, he asks, turns and looks at Steve in awe. Steve shakes his head and laughs.

"No there will be no noddles for breakfast, Loki. But I got something better.“, tells Steve him and he can see that Loki is at first disappointed, but then again his eyes get really big.

"But first, we to dress for the day and get finished in the bathroom, yeah?" says Steve, and Loki turns around immediately and runs to his room. Steve follows him and is pleased that the twins seem to be silent at the moment.

"Can I be Thor today?", asks Loki while he dances through his room. Steve laughs, but doesn’t even know exactly what that means. But Loki gets over and opens his wardrobe.

"And how are you going to be Thor?", asks Steve, as Loki searches through his clothes. Several Shirts fall out of the closet, but Steve picks them up patiently. Loki squeaks, as he has found what he is looking for. 

It is a blue Shirt with an imprint of Thor's Hammer and he hands it excited to Steve.

"With the Shirt, you Dummy.", giggles Loki and Steve smiles at him. Pah Dummy. 

Two seconds later, Loki comes back and now he is wearing the shirt. To the blue Shirt he is wearing green pants and Steve has to laugh. 

"Do you think that fits what you're wearing there?" asks Steve laughing and Loki crosses his arms in front of his chest.

"Yes! I like blue and green. You have blue eyes and a green Shirt!“, says Loki insulted and Steve needs to laugh more, because this is really no argument. But of course Loki can wear what he wants.

"Well, then we need to dress your two brothers and then we can eat.", says Steve and Loki takes his hand while you go to the room next door. The blinds are still down and Steve pulls them up. Clint sits on his bed and plays very quietly with his stuffed animals. James is still sleeping.

"Clint dress! I'm hungry.“, says Loki and that immediately gets the blonde's attention and he climbs out of his bed. Together with Loki, he opens the dresser and Loki seems to take something out of it. Steve is glad that Loki is already pretty independent and can help Steve.

"James, I need you to wake up huh?", Steve says as he sits down next to the youngest on the bed. But James stirrs only a bit and then continues to sleep calmly. Steve remembers the words of Mr. Stark, who said that James loves his sleep. Careful Steve strokes his cheek and this time, James frowns.

"I can wake Bucky up, Steve!", Clint now dressed says. Steve pulls Clint on his lap and kind of has a bad feeling about this. He hopes that Clint wouldn’t yell at his brother or something like that.

"I'm doing it like daddy!", says Clint and now Steve is eagerly to see that. Clint leans forward and breathes a kiss on James forehead. Immediately James opens his eyes.

"Daddy?", he asks tired and it breaks Steve's heart. James seems to miss his father the mos, and Steve hates it, that Mr. Stark isn’t here now. He has no idea where the mother of the boys is, and he isn’t one to judge anyone. But he feels really sorry for this three little boys.

"No, it's Steve, Baby. Do you want to get up and eat with us?“, asks Steve and James rubs his eyes. He looks sad to him, probably because his dad isn’t here now, but he finally nods.

"Okay, then come here, hm?", says Steve as he lifts James into his arms and after a few minutes he is dressed and washed, too. Steve is glad that he has so much experience. because of babysitting the daughter of his neighbor Peggy. When they arrive in the kitchen, the boys immediately go to their seats or get there with Steves help.

"Okay, I've got a surprise for you. I made pancakes!“, says Steve and all three boys are screaming. Steve laughs because even James yells excited and claps his hands, even though he was just so sad. He cuts the pancakes a bit smaller for the twins and sits next to James.

"Your daddy should be here any second.", Steve says as he throws a glance at the clock. He hurrys up with his own food, while the boys eat some more. They are talking about a movie, that Steve doesn’t know, while he cleans up the kitchen. He doesn't want Mr. Stark to be somehow unhappy with him.

Steve doesn't know why, but it is really important to him that the Mr. Stark likes him. Huh, of course he wants that because Steve thinks the three boys are really sweet and he already won their hearts, but there's something else. Only Steve does not know exactly what.

"Are you now always here, to watch us?“, asks Loki and now all three boys are looking at him. Steve, however, do not know how he should react, after all, Sam has talked about a one-time Job. But it would break his heart, if he would never see them again.

"Not always, huh? You want to have your daddy here too, hm?.“, Steve says and Clint drums with his utensils on the table. James fidgets in his high chair and is happy with his brothers ‚music’. Steve laughs and turns on the radio.

While he washes the dishes, the boys are running into the living room and are dancing to his music. Especially Clint seems to be thrilled, while Loki dances around him. Steve sings quietly to himself and James is watching his brothers from the couch. He hasn’t talked a lot with Steve, but at least it's a start.

Steve smiles to himself. He wishes he could be here everday. He wishes he would have children lile that. And he wishes...

"Boys. I'm home!", says Mr. Stark, when he opens the front door and Steve can hear all three boys screaming excited at their daddy, while he falls silent.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next one will be even better. Because you get a bit of Steve AND Tony.


	6. But we love him Daddy!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes. I know. I'm late! And Sorry! :(

"Daaaddy!" James is the first one to greet Tony at the door and he jumps him almost in the arms. Tony laughs and lifts him up immediately. James gets a kiss on the cheek and holds his daddy really tight back.

"Well, my litte star? Everything good?“ Tony asks and he is relieved that James isn’t in his bed and cries. No he even runs to his daddy and laughs. The next one is Clint. He comes running towards Tony and then Loki says his hello as well. Tony kneels down and puts James gently on his knee. He can keep the balance just so and spreads his arms for his other two boys. 

"Daddy! We were super well-behaved!“, Loki says immediately and Clint nods. He holds tightly on Tonys sleeve, until he gets a kiss on the cheek as well. Also Loki gets a kiss and Tony can't believe they all look so happy.

"Hello, Mr. Stark." Only now Tony looks up and sees Steve leaning in the doorway. He looks a little exhausted, but he smiles gently. Tony let his gaze briefly wander. He's wearing the same clothes as the day before, but the hair are a bit messed up. He looks good.

"Hi Steve.", Tony says and stands up again, pulls James with him. Steve seems a little unsure and remains there where he stands. Tony, by contrast, goes past him and enters the kitchen. It looks surprisingly tidy, and Tony turns around.

"Did they give you a lot of trouble?", Tony asks, as he over looks the living room and sees that there are only a few toys lying around.

"No, they were really well behaved." Steve answers with a smile and Loki looks really proud of himself. Clint pulls on the tip of Steve's Shirt and the Blonde takes him up. Tony can't prevent a brief smile when he sees Clint laying his head on Steve's shoulder and putting his thumb in his mouth.

Actually he forbid James and Clint to suck their thumbs, but sometimes the blonde falls back to the old behavior. Through their illnesses, both twins are not ready for their age. But maybe Tony has simply failed with his education.

"Boys? I would say you go and play for a bit and daddy comes in a minute?“, Tonys asks and Loki runs in the direction of the living room. Tony is now setting James down and he follows his brother a little hesitantly. Also, Clint is back to his feet and he takes the Hand of James, as they walk into the living room.

"They really are wonderful boys.", Steve says, as they stand in the kitchen and both try not to look at eachother. Tony grins again. 

"You have to say that, after all, you'll earn a bit of money with that babysitting.", Tony says and he is surprised how arrogant he sounds. Steve contorts his pink lips to a grimace.

"No, i mean it.", Steve says and the way he holds himself seems almost a little stubborn. Tony shrugs his shoulders. 

"I need to say, I'm a little surprised. It looks really neat and all three boys are happy.“, Tony says and his gaze wanders again through the kitchen. But in fact, there isn’t a mess anywhere.

It feels like his heart beats a bit faster. Although even when Thor and Sam have assured him that Steve is a nice guy, Tony was uncertain. Why should spend a young man his evening better with three little boys as his friends?

"They were pure angels. There were no problems with eating, even when they had to go to bed, everything was fine.“, Steve says gently and Tony nods. Finally, someone outside of his friends can see that his sons are lovely. He has never doubted that, but the last few weeks have worried him.

"Otherwise, any transactions? I mean, I know my sons. They were certainly a little...stressful.“ Tony says and he strokes his own hair a bit. He suddenly feels quite tired, but he has promised to play with his boys the whole afternoon.

"Uhhm. So Clint dropped a plate this morning, but I promise that I'm going to replace the plate, really. He was so sorry about it but I couldn’t scold him and...“, Steve babbles really nervous. Tony stops him, laughing. 

"Steven.", he begins and he can see how Steve frowns at that.

"You don't have to replace the plate. I mean, it was my son destroyed who destroyed it and it happens more often then i would like. Don't worry, but thank you.“ Tony says then and Steve breathes out in relief. This makes Tony frown, because Steve has issues with just replacing a single plate?

"I...I should really go?" says Steve and it sounds much more like a question. Tony nods a little lost in his thought and goes to fetch his jacket from the hallway. He pulls out the wallet and his cell phone. There are so many messages on his cell phone and Tony groans softly. 

H doesn’t even get his promised vacation from Nick. At the very least, he has a couple of days with his sons, but Monday he should be back at work. Only the Rest of Friday and the weekend will be spend with his boys.

"I don't know, what we have identified. But 200 dollar should be enough?“ Tony asks and pulls out the the money from his wallet. He gives it to Steve and stares still on his cell phone. Three missed calls from Nick, this means nothing good, but Tony would call back later.

"I-I..t-thank you.", stutters Steve and now Tony looks up again. The Blonde stares overwhelmed at the money in his hands. Tony wonder if Steve had never so much money in the hands. Although Tony never had became an Avenger he still has money now.

His house is really big and equipped with everything the boys and he need. Or not need. But he only works so much so that the boys will get everything they deserve. They have all earned it. 

"No Problem.", Tony says and this time he manages to smile also very friendly. Steve replies it but just a little hesitant. Still Tony thinks he likes his smile. It looks so real.

"Isn't that a little much? I can't accept it, for only one night baby-sitting.“, says Steve and wants to give Tony the money back, but Tony shakes his head. 

"Keep it.", he says, and Steve puts it in his pocket. Seems that the Blonde doesn’t like to get help from Others.

Tony can still remember how it went for him a few years ago. Because he had only a part-time job and his oldest son, but he was completly broke. He could hardly feed Loki and his girlfriend. It was even worse, when she left him and the twins were just born. Just because he didn’t want to work for his fathers company.

Sometimes Tony has not eaten for days, so his sons didn’t have to be hungry. He shakes his head and swallows the lump in his throat. He is just glad that the boys can't remember that.

"Boys? Will you please say Steve good-bye?“, Tony calls in the direction of the living room and in a moment the childs stops screaming. Loki comes with his brothers immediately to the front hall.

Steve goes to the kitchen quickly and get his backpack, he had packed already. He puts on his old jacket and puts on his hat. He then puts on the boots and looks to the boys who stand in front of him.

"Do you have to go, Steve?", asks Loki and he manages to sound so sad, that Tony wonders for a moment of how Steve has managed to inspire his boys. Normally, Loki is the First that puts the Nanny out of the front door. Clint also appears to be sad and is hugging Steve's leg.

"Yes, I have to go again. But I had so much fun with you!“ says Steve and taps Clint on the nose. The Blonde laughs softly and Loki giggles. 

"We had fun, Steve! Soooo much!“, says Loki and stretches his arms as far apart as he can. 

Tonys heart stopps for a moment, so sweet is this. Steve laughs and kneels down to the boys so he can hug them.

"I love you Steve!", Clint says as Steve pulls him into his arms and Tony can't understand what Steve whispers to him. Then he also pulls Loki in his arm and hugs him. 

"Come back soon, Steve.", says Loki with a grin and Steve nods a little cautious.

Tony now looks to James who stands at the end of the hallway and looks deeply sad. 

"James, Darling? Will you say good-bye?“, asks Tony addressed to him and James's dark eyes are now on him. Tony can immediately see the tears in his eyes and he wonders what he did wrong.

"No!" James says and stomps then with his feet. Tonys eyes widen, because James isn’t like that usually.

"James Buchanan. Where are your manners? Did Daddy teach you that?“ asks Tony and he sounds almost a little strict. Almost. In the case of James, it seems to work anyway, because he's sobbing quietly.

"Sorry.", murmurs James and in the next moment, he really starts to cry. Tony walks over in a hurry and lifts James onto his arm. How should he be strict, to his boys when they start crying and he runs towards them and kisses the bad words away.

"It's okay, huh? Be my good Boy and tell Steve goodbye.“, whispers Tony in James’ ear while he strokes him gently on the back. But James just shakes his head and buries his face in Tony's neck.

"I'm sorry, I don’t know what's going on.", Tony says to Steve, who is still kneeling with Loki and Clint. Clint looks worried to his twin and Tony sighs.

„James?“, asks Steve and his knees crack as he stands up. He comes closer and stands right next to Tony. Now James looks up to him. They can still see his tears.

"Yes?" James asks very quietly and Tony didn't trust his own ears. James is talking with Steve! And he doesn’t seem nervous. Tony raises an eyebrow and looks up at Steve, but he looks still at his son.

„I'll miss you too, James. But I'll definitely be coming back soon, then you can paint with me again?“ Steve asks and James looks at him carefully. 

"Promise?" he asks and stretches his hands out to Steve. Tony is too shocked to do anything, as Steve takes James in his own arm. 

Tony looks for a moment at Steve and his son. His heart stutters again and he feels a bit weird. What is happening? Maybe is he going to be ill. Shit. He can’t be ill. He has so much work to do.

Steve smiles at Tony and Tonys heart does it again. 

"I promise.", replies Steve with a grin and James seems relieved. He hugs Steve and even kisses Steve on the cheek. Tony almost chokes.

"Bye Bye, Steve!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thats it for now! Hopefully i can post in a few days again!


	7. What a bad day

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ugggggh! Yeah i know. IM REALLY LATE! Sorry :(

"Boys, the food is ready!", Tony yells as loud as he can and then he sits down for a moment. He is exhausted, because his boys have way too much energy today. Even James hardly sits still for a minute and rather runs through the house with his brothers.

"Papa!", Clint screams back and Tony stands up. Since when are his boys because not immediately there when he calls for them? Tony goes into the corridor and sees Loki at top of the staris. He is holding hands with Clint. 

"What's the matter boys?", Tony asks and turns to the lower end of the staircase.

"Up!", Clint says and sits down on the top step. For a moment Tony doesn't really know what Clint wants from him. He is at the top of the stairs or not? 

"Steve says Clint and Bucky are too small for the stairs.", Loki says then explanatory and now Tony understands what Clint wants.

"Oh...uh okay.", Tony asnwers. He goes upstairs and takes Clint on his arm. Now he also sees James sitting in the hallway. James looks up and then comes over. He holds Tony's hand and Tony is a bit surprised. 

What exactly is going on here? 

While Loki's bouncing the individual steps down, Tony helps James down and still carries Clint. Once at the bottom he sets Clint down again, who runs with his brothers in the kitchen.

Tony has a bad feeling about this. He believed James and Clint were now old enough to go the stairs down on their own. But...but apparently he was wrong. 

He doesn’t remember when Loki first used the steps on his on, but he thought that would have been in a similar time. Oh, God. He is such a bad father. James and Clint are only three! Anything could have happened to them!

Tony holds his hand in front of the mouth, because he believes for a brief moment, that he is going to puke. Never again would he let the two boys go the staris up or down on their own. Until they are as old as Loki is now. 

"Daddy?", Loki asks and he is waving his hands. Tony blinks and wakes up from his daydream. Loki smiles at him and Tony nods before they walk together in the kitchen.

"Hungry!", Clint whines and Tony has to resist a grin. Tony would be worried if there was a day, where Clint wasn’t hungry. Clint whins louder now and Tony puts the sandwiches on the table. Immediately Clint stops. 

"Noodles? Daddy! Noodles!“, Clint says and pushes away his own plate. Loki is also looking sad at those sandwiches. Normally its only James who does that.

"I've made no pasta, sorry guys. Today there are Sandwiches. With cheese, because i know you love that the most.“, Tony tries and takes one for himself. James sits back and forth and doesn't look happy.  
"Steve has made pasta!", Loki says and crosses his arms in front of his chest. He manages to look at least as stubborn as Tony has done as child, when he didn’t like something.

Tony would almost smile, because he loves to see, that they are really his sons. They have his manners and only little of her mother. Probably because they have spent too little time with her. Only Clint's blonde hair and the blue eyes of the twins are remembering Tony of her.

"And your daddy made Sandwiches, so you will eat them.", Tony says and he tries to sound decisive. Thor told him once again that he could be a bit more strict. After all, he is the father and his boys have to listen to him.

"No!" Clint says now and he looks as angry as Loki does. Only James seems a little uncertain and says nothing. Tony doesn't know what's going on, because otherwise they will eat everything that he makes. Naturally, there aren’t always sandwiches, but unfortunately, Tony makes them a lot. He never really has the time for more and he is not the best cook. He can make some things, even pasta, damn it, but apparently it’s not enough today.

"Clint, I'm not going to discuss this with you.", Tony says and tries to be calm. But Clint shakes his head. Also Loki still makes no attempt to eat something. 

"Noodles!", Clint calls now a bit louder.

He hits with his plastic fork on the table and starts kicking with the legs. Tony takes a deep breath, he knows that Loki and Clint are hyperactive and they are showing it now. Also Loki is drumming with his dishes and even James hits with his palms on the table. 

Tony ignores them and stands up to put some sandwiches on their plates. Just as he grabs a sandwich on Clints plate, his phone is ringing and Tony growls softly.

Even on a saturday the fucking work is calling. Tony wonders whether he can ignore it, but the ringtone tells him clearly that it must be Nick or Pepper. 

"Papa Noodles!", Loki calls now and Tony can feel a strong migraine forming behind his eyeslids. He should have taken a pill this morning.

"Be Quiet boys, daddy needs to take this call!", Tony says and raises his voice a little. However, the boys don't stop and are yelling a bit louder. Now Tony can even hear James.

"Hello?" he growls nearly into the phone and he can hear Nick groaning. Tony tries to calm down. He needs this Job.

"Tony? You are flying tomorrow to manchester. The Avenger need your support. There are some strange incidents and the boys need any mechanical support they can get.“, Nick explaines as if it were nothing special and Tony wants to scream.

"Come again?", he whispers, because Nick can't be serious. Why? Nick said that Tony didn’t have to work this weekend. He wanted to show his boys the zoo tomorrow. He has this idea for so long in his head. 

"You heard me or are we no longer speaking the same language?", Nick asks and now he seems to be angry, too. Tony holds his left hand over his free ear, because his boys are still screaming in the background.

"But you said... I mean, I have my sons here and..." Tony starts and he hates that he stammers. Actually, he is not fallen on the mouth, but with his boss or his sons it’s another thing.

"It can’t be that hard to find someone, who will look after them.", Nick says and Tony can almost see how he sits on his huge leather chair and grins. Tony is really angry right now. 

"I'm trying my Best, but..." begins Tony again, but this time Nick doesn’ want to hear it.

"Listen. I also have a daughter and strangely enough, I can still go to work all day. You'll find a solution for your Problem otherwise I find someone to take over your job.“, Nick says and Tony swallows dry. No. He can't lose this Job. But...but his sons are more important than this or?

He turns to them and sees Loki dancing on his chair. His brothers are watching him laughing. Of course, his sons are more important than anything else, but for them, he even works so hard. So that they can have a better life. 

"Okay, I...try.", Tony says slowly and he listens as Nick says something to his Secretary. Then Nick sighs and is back on the phone.

"Good boy, Tony. Somebody will even watch _your _kids. I see you tomorrow. On time, 8 am here.“, Nick says and before Tony can say something, Nick is gone.__

_Even watch your kids._

____Tony has the feeling someone has just ripped his heart out. His children are the best in the world! Tony knows that, but that just hurt a lot._ _ _ _

____Tony collects himself for a moment, before he turns around to his boys and the food. He knows that they laugh at him at work often enough. How his girlfriend left him and all three children. He takes a deep breath and sits back at the table._ _ _ _

____"Please...eat now.", he says and it costs all of his control that he not starts to cry. James seems to notice the change in the mood of Tony and takes a piece of the sandwich in his mouth. Clint shakes however his head and Loki remains to refuse his food._ _ _ _

____„Fine, then you go without food to bed!" Tony says and he feels as frustrated as it sounds. Clint stands up almost immediately and runs out of the kitchen and Tony feels guilty. Loki looks angry at him._ _ _ _

____"Daddy! Who?“, Loki asks and points to the phone that is still laying on the kitchen counter. Tony's stomach turns again. It is clear that Loki became aware of this only too clearly._ _ _ _

____Sometimes he wishes Loki wouldn’t be so clever and intelligent for his age._ _ _ _

____"My Boss. I...I'm sorry boys, but daddy has to work tomorrow.“, Tony says, because would never lie to his boys. He can see how Loki grimaces and James rubs over his eyes._ _ _ _

____"Daddy? Bucky Time?“, James asks automatically and Tony can feel how painful his heart is pounding. He had promised James that they would have tomorrow a lot of time just for the two of them. They often have that when Loki and Clint are playing outside and James just wants to sit with his daddy._ _ _ _

____"Bucky Time," Tony called it at some point. The other two have also times like this with him._ _ _ _

____"I'm so sorry darling! I promise you, we'll catch up later!“, Tony says and James nods slowly. Still he looks terribly disappointed and Loki stands up._ _ _ _

____"You're mean!", Loki says, before he runs into the living room, where Clint sits on the couch and waits for someone to start some cartoons on the television._ _ _ _

____Tony sighs and cleans the table. He helps James out of his highchair and the dark-haired runs without a further comment to his brothers. Tony is glad that they at least have themselves. He starts the dishwasher and then goes into the living room to have still some time with his boys._ _ _ _

____"I miss Steve.", Loki whines just as Tony stands at the doorframe._ _ _ _

____They miss Steve? They know him only for one day and Tony didn’t want to ask Steve for another day with his boys._ _ _ _

____"Steve is not as mean as Daddy!", Clint says and James next to him is crying in one of the pillows. Tony sighs._ _ _ _

____Not even his sons want him..._ _ _ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And now? Will Tony call Steve again?


	8. I don't know what to do

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahhhhhh. I'm late. And sorry!

Tony sits at the kitchen table and tussles his hair. The boys are already in their beds and Tony finally has the time to think a little. However that doesn’t help at all, because he has no idea what to do. The kitchen clock is ticking quietly and yet it feels too loud right now.

In less than 12 hours he would have to be back at work and he doesn't know what he's going to do with his sons. Carefully he takes his phone and then shakes his head. He has no friends who he could call. Probably his former friends don't even know who he is. Only Rhodey, but he is at the other end of the world. Tony would never ask him to give up his job in the military just because Tony couldn't get his own shit together. 

"You screwed up pretty bad this time, Stark.", he says to himself and the silence that he gets back, because he's sitting here alone, makes the whole situation even worse. He also can’t call the boys mother. He doesn't even know whether she's still living in the city or what her number is. What she does at all.

Not after she has left him alone with their boys. Clint and James barely a few months old. Tony is glad that Loki doesn’t asks about her, even if he was crying the first few weeks without her. Now Tony shakes his head. Why is he still thinking about her? It hurts, but he does it so often.

Anyway, today was already a bad day. Thinking about her just makes it worse. No matter what he did today, his boys compared everything to Steve. And it hurts. Even if they don’t see that. Is he such a bad father? He wanted to be the best father in the world, precisely because he knows exactly how it is to have a bad father. 

"Fuck.", he sighs and rubs over his eyes. He wouldn’t start crying like a little girl. 

He looks back on his cell phone. He also can’t ask the Avengers, because they are with him on this ‚mission’. Only Steve remains...

Or Tony gets a very expensive Nanny again, who makes James cry and the other two go crazy. But can he call Steve? Its already late. On the other hand Steve is already over 20, so he still should be awake, right? But, what if he has friends over...or his girlfriend?! Tony doesn’t want to interrupt that. 

"Fuck it.", Tony mumbles and then dials the number. He has no choice and he knows that his sons would be happy. After all, he no longer makes them happy. It rings about ten times and Tony wants to give up, when he hears Steve answer the call.

"Hey it's Steve!", the Blonde says and he sounds quite different. Really cheerful and he even laughs a little. Tony caughts himself smiling, too.

„H-hi Steve, this is Mr. Stark.“, he says and he has to clear his throat right at the beginning. 

Steve seems to be in shock for a moment, because Tony hears him taking a deep breath and then the music gets turned off.

"Oh. Hello Mr. Stark, is everything okay?“ Steve asks and apparently you can hear in Tony's voice, how scared he is. Even if Tony's father had beat him for showing any feelings. In the truest sense of the word.

"I'm sorry to call so late.", Tony says first, because he has the feeling, otherwise he would tell Steve all his problems, even though he barely knows him. 

"No problem. I was awake anyway and have Peggy here.", Steve says then and Tony can hear him smile. This calms him for a moment, but then he realizes, what Steve just said.

"Oh, I didn't mean to interrupt!", he says in a hurry and jumps up from his chair. He even knocks over his coffee. Why is he so nervous?

Steve is only 23 and Tony is an adult! Tony should not be so nervous about this. But he has disturbed Steve and his girlfriend and just because he can’t control his own life! 

"Don't bother. Peggy is already half asleep.“, Steve answers and this time he chuckles. Tony has the feeling his heart just stops. 

"Uh...I..." stammers Tony and now he feels an unknown heat in his cheeks. No! He hasn’t blushed since he was 14! He inhales again and this time it sounds really shaky. Even Steve should be able to hear that. 

"Mr. Stark, are you really okay? The boys are well?“ Steve asks and the concern in Steve's voice makes everything worse. 

Tony is now in his hallway and looks in the mirror of the wardrobe. He looks at himself and shakes his head slowly. Since when did he have such dark circles under his eyes? Since when was his hair so long and why is he so pale?

"Y-Yes, they are good. They just... miss you.“, Tony says and he doesn't even know why he tells Steve that. But it feels like he urgently needs to talk to someone about it, otherwise he would go crazy.

"Oh.", Steve says and he sounds really surprised. However, it sounds really cheerful and then Tony hears the sweet giggeling again. 

"I miss them already, too. It was pretty funny with them.“, Steve says then and he sounds really happy. Tony can hardly believe that finally someone is talking so wonderful about his children. It helps a lot. 

"Today they denied my lunch, because your lunch yesterday was much better.", Tony says and wants to scream. Why did he say that. Steve chuckles again and Tony smiles a bit.

" I can't cook that good, but I do what I can.", Steve says and this conversation doesn’t seem to be uncomfortable for him at all. But it must be weird for him. Tony calls him so late and then just talks about his sons with him. 

"I think they like you more than me.", Tony says and it sounds a little bitter this time. Tony tries to remain strong.

„I'm sorry, I didn't want them to turn against their own father.“, Steve says and he doesn’t seemed to recognized Tonys mood change. 

Tony however looks in the mirror again and he sees the first tear running over his cheekbone. Shit. 

"S-okay. I didn't deserve anything different.“, Tony says now and this time his voice breaks completely. Now he narrows his eyes as more tears come. 

"Mr. Stark, are you crying?", Steve asks and he sounds so scared.

"I-i’m s-sorry.“ Tony tries to say and he sobs again. He doesn’t know whether it is up to Steve's soothing voice or that he feels comfortable, but now he is really crying. On the Phone. With the Nanny of his boys. If his life wasn’t shit before, now it is.

"Oh, no, no, no, it's no Problem. You want to...Do you want to talk about it?“, Steve asks and he sounds so compassionate and not angry or anything. That alone helps a bit. He wipes his eyes again but the tears won’t stop. 

"Call me Tony, when I already cry in front of you.", Tony says and he grins, even if he still ins’t feeling any better.

"Okay, Tony.", Steve says and Tony can’t do anything against the goose bumps spreading on his body. Steve's voice is so deep and soothing, he has the feeling to be caressed. 

"I...I'm just a little overwhelmed.", Tony begins and it’s the first time he said that loud. It is still embarrassing, because he is a grown man, and should be able to care for his three children and his career, but he can't.

"I can hear that, but that's okay.", Steve's still talking with a smile on his face. Tony can hear that and when he looks up Tony sees himself in the mirror again, also with a little smile.

"I feel like I'm a bad father.", Tony says and his chest hurts again. It doesn't help at all, to say it loud, it just makes it even more real.

„No! Tony, you have three wonderful sons. They were lovely, I told you.“, Steve resists and he sounds so convinced that Tony believes him for a few seconds. He takes a deep breath. 

„But they...uh really loved you and everybody says...“ Tony starts again but Steve is faster.

„I’m flattered. And i really like them, too. But your are their father and of course they love you. And i don’t care what everybody says. I just know you are a perfect father.“ Steve says now and Tony is sure he blushes all the way down to his neck.

"But I'm working all the time..." he says quietly and Steve is quiet for a moment. 

"Is that why you called?", he asks and he doesn't even sound angry. Rather as if he is glad about Tony calling him. Tony nods at first and them remembers that Steve can't see him at all. 

It's better that way, Tony thinks and wipes his tears with his Shirt away. 

"My boss called me earlier and...I have to be at the airport tomorrow at 8am, because i need to fly to Manchester.", Tony says and he sounds so infinitely disappointed at himself. He can hear that Steve searches for something. 

"If I take the first bus, i’m at 7am at your place.", Steve says finally and Tony can hear him typing on his laptop. 

"You...would that really do that?“, Tony asks and he sounds so full of hope that he feels a little silly. Steve closes the Laptop and comes back closer to the phone.

"Of course, I want to see my three little boys. How long will you be gone?“, Steve asks and Tony digs out his Notepad. Nick has sent him all the details.

"So I have to stay overnight. But I’m sure i will be home on Sunday evening. That’s two days and a night. Shit, is that even alright? Otherwise, I call Pepper, or...“, Tony rambles directly and he seems to start crying again. 

"Tony. Tony! Hey it’s no problem! Although I have a bit homework for Uni, but I can do that when the three are sleeping.“, Steve says and he sounds so loose and resolved that Tony feels so calm and happy. He can't believe his luck.

"Really?", he asks once again, because he doesn’t want to solve Steve any problems. 

"Really. So I will see you in the morning?“, Steve asks and Tony can hear him yawning. Oh they are on the phone for over half an hour. Tony should go to bed, too.

"See you tomorrow.", he says before hangs up in a hurry and leans with a beating heart at the corridor wall. 

What the hell was that all about? 

He runs his fingers through his hair and sighs again. Then he goes upstairs and looks once more after his sons. James is now laying in Clint's bed, but otherwise they're all sleeping quietly. 

Even if Tony is not the best father, he loves his sons more than anything else.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> and now?


	9. You are back!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I KNOW. I'M LATE. SORRY.

"Hello.", Tony says, a little shy, as he stands the next morning in his doorframe and Steve is on the top step of the staircase. Tony is so incredibly embarrassed that he called Steve yesterday so late and then started crying on top of that.

Steve seems to be at least as uncomfortable as Tony is because he scratches the back of his head and grins a little shaky. Tony takes yet a moment to let his gaze wander over Steves body. Steve is wearing such a tight shirt, that Tony is wondering how it fits him. With a pair of Jeans that look like they are from his grandfather.

"Are the boy already awake?" Asks Steve and Tony nods immediately. It was a pretty rough night, because Clint woke him up a few times. Although he has not spoken to Tony about it, Tony believes Clint had a few bad dreams. 

"Clint and Loki are in the kitchen and are trying to eat my uhm.. stuff.", Tony says, and he grins ashamed at that. He knows himself that he can’t cook at all.

"And where is the youngest sweetheart?", asks Steve and he sounds so happy to see the boys that Tony has to grin really wide. Forgotten is the last time when Steve was here and Tony was so serious and kind of a dick. He hopes Steve isn’t still afraid of him. 

"In fact he is still asleep, but he is in the living room on the couch. You can let him sleep peacefully, as long as he wants. Otherwise you can do what you want.“, says Tony and Steve nods.

"What about going outside? Allowed?“, ask Steve, as he takes off his jacket and Tony shrugs. 

"James is not really happy outside. But Loki loves it like crazy. Clint doesn't care where he gets messy.“ Tony says and he gets a sly smile from Steve. 

"Okay, I look what they would like to do. Otherwise, I know everything i need to know.“, says Steve and puts his shoes next to the entrance door. Tony admires that he is so tidy.

"It would be great if they would take bath in the evening. That means Loki can shower if he wants. He also washes himself alone. Clint likes to take a bath, but he would certainly need his toys that he is allowed to take into the water. They are in the blue Box on the top shelf in the bathroom. James hates water, but I'm sure he lets you do it. Best you put him next to Clint, then he is a little distracted. Oh, and James prosthesis is allowed to be in the water with him. I got that developed. But I think I've told you already.“, Tony rattles down, while he fixes his expensive suit and shoes. 

He hates that he has to walk all day in a suit. He would rather be lazing around in sweatpants and a sweater on the couch. When Tony looks up, he notices that Steve is smiling at him, incredibly gentle.

"What?" he asks, stroking his beard. He should shave again. Steve shrugs his shoulders.

"You think you're a bad father, but you know exactly what your sons need.", Steve says it like Tony is a really special dad. Tony feels yet a little flattered and feels his cheeks heat up. Before he can say anything else, rushes Loki around the corner.

"Steve!", he says startled, because Tony hasn’t told his boys, who would look after them. Loki's eyes are all dilated and in the next moment, a wide grin adorns his face. Although Tony can understand it even a little bit that he's so happy, he finds it still a little exaggerated. 

"Loki, I’m really happy to see you.", says Steve and kneels down. Loki jumps him almost immediately in the arms. Tony is still a few metres away and looks at them.

„Will you stay to play?", asks Loki a bit upset and pulls a little at Steve's shirt. The blond laughs and pulls Loki on his knees. Tony's glad that Steve gives especially Loki's attention, after all, he often gets less than his brothers, since the other two need much more help with the most things.

"Yes, and I'll be even here till tomorrow night!", Steve says and he sounds really excited about that. 

It warms Tonys heart. Loki claps happily and this in turn does hurt a bit. Because Loki knows that it actually means that Tony needs to go away, but it doesn't seem to bother him. 

"What do you want to do today?", asks Steve and Loki is shaking now in excitement.

"Uh..uhh I want to play football, Yes? Or...or we can play with my cars! And we need to paint together! You said you were painting me!“ Loki say and he talks so quickly that Tony has trouble to follow him. Steve seems to have no problems with that and nods.

"Of course, that we can do all that, cupcake.", says Steve and Loki grins at the nickname. 

Not two seconds later, Clint comes around the corner running from, apparently, he has heard Steve and Loki. Tony knew that Clint would eat his breakfast completly, before he would join in. Food is to him more important than anything else.

„Steve!“, he says just as excited as Loki before and he stretches out his hands to him. Steve just laughs and presses a kiss on Lokis cheek, before he sets him down and pulls Clint in his arms.

"Hello my sunshine.", says Steve and Clint giggles again. They seem to really like it when Steve gives him so much attention. Tony sighs softly.

"Missed you!", Clint says then and pouts. Unfortunately, all three really good at pouting with their puppy dog eyes and it makes Tony's heart soften every single time. 

"I missed you too. And i already promised Loki that we will do great things together, okay?" says Steve and Clint's frown disappears in an instant. 

"Pancakes?", Clint asks, full of hope, and Tony can't believe his son still thinks of Steve's food.

"Uh.. I don't know if I'll make you pancakes, but I'll cook you something yummy yeah?.", Steve says and though that wasn’t what he asked for, Clint nods and hugs Steve. In the case of Tony, he had a screaming fit yesterday when he said he wouldn’t make pancakes. Tony shakes his head.

"So I...", Tony begins, but then they can hear steps again. James appears in the hallway and rubs over his eyes, while he is yawning. Tony holds back a sigh because James looks so cute in his pajamas and with the teddy bear he holds.

"Daddy.", James says and Tony walks over in a hurry and takes his son in his arms.

"I'm here sweetheart.", he whispers in the dark hair of James and snuggles up to him. Tony grins, at least one of his sons appreciates him. But in the next moment, James seems to notice that Steve is there and he starts to struggle in Tony's arms.

"Down.", he says quietly and Tony does, of course, immediately, what his son wants. 

James runs over to Steve and even ignores that his bear falls down. Tony picks it up for James and cuddles the bear. Steve looks a little surprised. Although James isn’t hugging him like Clint or Loki did, but he smiles at Steve while he waves to him shyly

"Hi James, did you sleep well?", asks Steve and Tony can see how his son is hiding nervously behind his twin, but he nods. 

"Okay, I have to go, now", Tony says and he clears his throat. However, his boys give him no real attention. Instead, Loki excitedly tells his brothers exactly what Steve is goint to to with them the next hours.

"I said I'm going now.", Tony repeats patiently, but he doesn’t get the expected reaction.

What exactly is going on now? 

"Steve, come on I gotta show you my new car!", says Loki and pulls Steve by the hand behind him. Steve grins mischievously when Loki pulls him over to the living room. Tony doesn’t even got a glance from Loki. As if Tony is air for him.

His throat tightens and he notices that the knot in his stomach grows a little further. Even Clint seems to be of little interest for him and follows his brother and Steve. He yells loudly and laughs at the same time. 

Tony sighs, well, at least his children are happy with Steve. Isn’t that what Tony wanted? He wanted his children to be able not to miss him and even have fun when he is away. But it seems like he forgot that he would still miss his silly boys.

"Daddy!", James says now and Tony breathes relieved out. James thought of him. Of course, because James has so far been the most clingy. Tony kneels down to him and smiles at him. 

"Yes love?", he asks and James smiles back at him. Tony is so glad that his son isn’t crying again.

"Didi!", James says then and points to the teddy bear in Tony's arms. Tonys smile breaks.  
James just wanted his bear. Tony holds back a snort and gives his son the dark blue bear. James pushes him right to his face and smiles. Tony can't be angry at him.

"James, daddy's going to work now okay?" Tony says, just because he wants to tickle a reaction out of James. The dark-haired looks actually up at him and nods once.

"Okay Daddy.", he says, and Tony wants to break out into tears immediately. 

Did his boys stop loving him, since Steve is there, or what? James walks now in the direction of the living room and draggs his bear behind him. Tony can hear the laughter from Steve and his two other sons. He remains still for a moment in the hallway, before he takes a look at his watch and then takes his front door key. Who would have thought that Steve is now more important for the boys than him.

Just as he stands in the front door with his briefcase in the hand, the living room door opens again and James comes out. 

"Daddy Bye Bye!", he yells and then blows his daddy a kiss. Tony is so relieved that he could cry, but he is grinning too. He blows a kiss back and James giggles and even waves with the hand of his bear.

"I love you James. Take good care of your brothers and Steve.“, says Tony and James lifts his hand to give his dad the word of honour. Now Clint comes out of the living room, too. 

"Love You, Daddy!", Clint says, and then Loki appears with Steve. 

"Bye Daddy! See you in the morning.“, Loki says and he smiles so happy. Tony was never so relieved before in his entire life. 

"See you tomorrow.", he says and waves his sons, before he goes leaves for work.

**Author's Note:**

> Whoops. That's it. For now.


End file.
